Woman found dead after 'fake car accident'
A murder inquiry has been initiated after a woman's corpse was found in the driver's seat of her blue Ford Focus.
A passing motorist made the discovery of the 35 year old nurse's body and the car, around 100ft (30m) from the edge of the road, having gone through a hedge.
It was initially believed to be a true car accident but the police now believe that the car accident was staged to hide the true cause of her death.
Officers who investigated the body found indications that she had been killed before the car accident.
A post mortem examination, conducted the next day, concluded she had been strangled.
The body was recovered from a road in Scarisbrick, near Martin Mere Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Centre, which is a nature reserve, in Lancashire.
Neighbours described the victim as a "genuinely lovely person."
Det Supt Andy Webster, of Lancashire Police, said: "We are appealing for anyone who may have seen this particular car in the 24 hours before its discovery, or who has seen anything suspicious to come forward and speak to us."
A 31-year-old Southport man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder and is in custody for questioning for personal injury .
Updated on 1/25/2010